Normally, Celine Dion's vocals are controlled and crystal clear. But Lionel Richie was in the booth, coaxing her to rough it up a bit and let her emotions soar.

"Well, well, well, WELL!" she belted out, remaking the iconic line sung by Cyndi Lauper in the original version of "We Are the World" in 1985.

Dion and 80 other artists - including Barbra Streisand, Lil Wayne, Kanye West, Tony Bennett, the Jonas Brothers and actor Vince Vaughn - had gathered after the Grammys at the request of Quincy Jones and Lionel Richie to record an updated version of the anthem. The location was Studio A at The Jim Henson Studios in Los Angeles, site of the first recording session.

The 2010 remake opens with 15-year-old heartthrob Justin Bieber singing the line Richie crooned in 1985, "There comes a time when we heed a certain call, when the world must come together as one."

"Nobody knew which part they were going to perform," said Dion.

Lil Wayne - best known for his skills as a rapper - was assigned the part recorded by Bob Dylan in the original. Did he sing it better than Dylan? "Hell, no!" he exclaimed.

At one point during the evening, singer Melanie Fiona took off her shoes, leaning on Musiq Soulchild in the process. That prompted Dion to burst into a spontaneous version of "Lean on Me," with everyone joining in. "It was rockin'," reported Verdine White of Earth, Wind and Fire.

There was lots of picture-taking, and phone numbers were liberally exchanged.

"We Are the World," 2010 edition, adds what Jones calls a "Greek rap chorus" written by Will.i.am. One of today's most in-demand producers, Red One, was brought in to put a contemporary spin on the original arrangement. Richie - who penned the original song with Michael Jackson - re-worked a few of the lyrics.

Even technology was updated, with 3-D cameras documenting the process for a video directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Paul Haggis ("Crash," "Million Dollar Baby"). And during the recording of the group chorus, two people dressed in green bodysuits embedded themselves in crowd near Streisand and the Jo Bros. They were "green screen" placeholders, which will enable people at home to later insert themselves or their friends into the video via their home computers.

Tuesday, Janet Jackson was expected to add her voice from a remote studio in Atlanta.

Josh Groban - who sang the part Kenny Rogers had in the original - summed up Monday night's event.

"Everyone left their egos at the door," he said, repeating a line associated with the original. "I think our hearts have all broken for Haiti, and we understand they are a country that desperately needs our help."

soundoff(85 Responses)

Tish

I know there are poor, sick, homeless, starving and all kinds of people all over the world. My heart aches for all the people who hurt and are in need. But, come on people, charity starts at home. I think we should take care of our own people here in the United States before sending everything to other countries. IF the United States didn't have any homeless, poor and starving people, then, it would be OK to help other countries. People from other countries hate us and would kill us in a minute if they had a chance. I think we should take care of our own people FIRST. I've been to places all over the United States and have seen people in just as bad of shape and pitiful looking as people overseas. I know some of the "foreigners" I've encountered act like WE OWE THEM. They don't appreciate anything and half the ones HERE have more than we do anyway. It isn't fair! Don't let them take over. Take care of our own people FIRST.

I am really sick to death of hearing about all the benefits to help Haiti. There are people in America that are struggling to keep food on the table and pay their bills. It breakes my heart to see the pictures of the damage there and of the people, but if these "stars" want to help, let them start at home. America is the first country to step in and help in these other countries when disaster strikes, and they would kill us the minute our backs are turned.

I think it was a great idea and effort to remake a classic, regardless of who sang what part. The proceeds will go to Haiti for a great cause. Now as far as why this song wasn't re-recorded for those of New Orleans, are you serious! Those people got help. The were flown to other cities and states which they trashed and increased the crime rate of. They were so ungrateful for what others did for. How dare you go to someone else's home and disrespect their hospitality. Earthquakes are unexpected, hurricanes are not. From what Ive seen, the Haitians are loving the US, for all of its help. No one from New Orleans said thank you, the just complained and insulted our hospitality.

I think this is plain dumb and stupid! Why remake the original when the original really wasn't that good? I'm not wasting my money on this. I am in dire straits here at home. Let the rich celebrities and other wealthy people chip in for Haiti. Most of the money won't get to them anyway.

Yes, I agree. I think Michael would have participated. So they need to leave his voice in it, the first time he sings by himself "We are the world"... and then especially on the when he says"When you're down and out, and there seems no hope at all" part. That is irreplaceable...

Wow! It seems that everyone has an axe to grind, here. I applaud those who have posted positive messages. As far as the rest of you are concerned:

Kayne West – I never liked him, EVER. Taylor Swift is not a baby. She's gotten over it and is laughing all the way to the bank.

Selection of Singers – nobody here knows exactly how this ensemble was assembled, so stop passing judgement just becasue your favorite isn't included. I think that it's an eclectic and diverse group.

Other Disasters – every disaster is a tragedy and worthy of as much aid and help possible. This one, however, surpasses all others in the scope of damage done to what was argueably already the poorest country in the world still trying to recover from devastating hurricanes. Speaking of which, any disaster in the USA should be able to be recovered from by our MANY internal governmental resources. Notice I used the word "should".

Yes, Michael Jackson would support and encourage this project.. He also would not be surprised by the negativity it is spawning.

Finally – is it naive to believe that these people are using their God-given talent to help? That there are no ulterior motives or political agendas involved? If you had that kind of talent and celebrity status, what would you be doing to help??

Re Elisha: I am sorry to hear you were caught up in Katrina. Your local/state governements failed you.The federal government and several presidents failed you.The levees have been a problem since way before Bush.The federal government had to step in and pick up the slack from the states/local governments. There were efforts from celebrities Tim Mc Graw, Harry Connick, Jr., Faith Hill...several sports stars and I personally know people who went down to help with the Red Cross. People in your area were notified ahead of time to leave and many chose not to. Some of the people of NO wasted $ sent to them on porno and trips instead of getting out of the trailers that were provided...that left a bad taste in people's mouths...after seeing what Haitians are going thru people in NO should be grateful for those trailers...at least they are not fighting for food and living in tents.

and I'm so tired of hearing about this Kanye West thing OMG did it happen to you or Taylor Swift!!?? LET IT GO!! She still got the award and he was just stating his opinion just like all of us are doing right now!!

You all are crazy it dont matter what your opinions are about the group of people its still for a cause and Michael would have supported it. You people are just angry haters that are irrevelant to the cause at hand!! Its purpose is to attract the younger audience as well as the older generation who are already familiar with the original song. With or without your support the song is still gonna do good because even though the group of people who are featrued are not most older people choice of musicians, they are iconic musicians that most people can relate too, and I support it all the way and I'm sure Michael would too.

Great idea, lame Hollywood redux. Like someone else said, write a new song, else suffer the "American Idol" syndrome. What is that you ask? Well, America celebrates people who sing like other people. In other words, where is the next best song? Let's celebrate in the meantime people who mimic other people....

i am a victim of hurricane katrina and i see all this help for hati dont get me wrong it is a good thing to do but when i look back and when South Mississppi(where im from) and the New Orleans were in need there wasnt alot of help from us i still see disable people in fema trailers and that lost almost everything but the united states and other countless celebs would rather support a whole other country but not your own first. why they didnt have a text hotline for us or remake a global song for us. there were people who help me and others but c'mon your own state and you treat a whole country better than us. well that was just my opinion.

Celine Dion donated 500.000 to Haiti. And also donated 1 million to Katrina. Also 1 million to the Tsunami relief in Asia. She is the most succesful artist in 2000 decade generating more than 740.000.000 dollars. It;s good she is giving some money away. It's going to be great watching A listers like Dion and Streisand weave there voices together.

So many important artists out there but not many singers have had the succes like Streisand and Dion.

Dion is the best selling female artist of all time. More than Madonna, Mariah, Whitney, even Ms Streisand. And at the same she is the nicest artist celeb out there. Down to earth and very real. I think it all depends in the education and family ties you have. She has the best supporting family there and although here husband is 20 yrs older... well, the guy has known how to turn a simple province little girl into a world mega star!

The point with a song like this is to have people who wouldn't ordinarily buy a Lil Wayne album or a Tony Bennett album to WANT to buy this song simply because they love that artist. By including a variety of artists from all genres you pull in a larger group of people to "donate" by buying. For those hatin' on Kanye. I'm appalled by the recent actions (and some prior) but he IS a talent , he HAS a following and deserves to be on the album – Heck the first time Latoya Jackson was in the studio LATOYA along with Dan Ackroyd and some other people I had NO idea who they were – so cut them a little slack. You might be pleasantly surprised. Myself, I can't wait to hear it!

Hey. Maybe you don't like the mix of people, but the original had a similar odd mix of people. That is part of the beauty of the group singing – lots of diversity and style mixed with new and old famous voices.
Have you heard Tony Bennett's album with all the very unlikely people he sang duets with? It demonstrates that the voice we are familiar with is not the only voice or style the performer has to work with. It is an incredible album – even if Tony Bennett isn't your favorite style (not mine either). I love the album though.
Give this new We Are the World a chance for the enxtg generation to be represented for important humanitarian purposes. Move over.

I am all about helping each other. The world should be a more charitable place, but when you start talking about MJ and what a great guy he was & blah, blah, blah. Every "great" thing he ever did was erased when he became a pedophile. Any other human being on earth would be ostricized forever, but not good ol' MJ. I think this song is a great idea if the money goes where it is supposed to go.

maybe they should just do "hands across america " again to raise money..that was atleast alll americans, not just the publicity hungry ones with money....
no one is going to buy a re-make of a charity song....just download it off the computer for free....if there all so talented why can;t they come up with a new song...because they are not talented..they all need to see their names in print in magazines and hollywood news tv shows... who are half of these people anyway? quincey jones needs to go enjoy retirement, his judgement is going.....

Why are we giving so much when we are facing an unstable future in the united states. the goverment already donated 1 billion dollars of our tax money to the cause.we need to fix unemployment, welfare,the homeless, and poverty here in the states before we can fix the rest of the world

Really and seriously, I appluade PoohBear for really bringing to light what is wrong with the world at a large. I am old enough to remember the original and I loved it then for its message not who was there. So if you can't place your personal feelings aside then you are among the saddest citizens of this world. Secondly, and I already know the pitchforks are going to be extra sharp for me on this one. But Katrina was four years ago and even though there was no remakes of influential tracks from years since past there were still a lot of support from across the world that went without notice (Linkin Park – The Little Things Give You Away) so it was not like there wasn't any form of out pouring for those that suffered great losses. But this is to aide a country that's government has no stability to assist its own people. So in simple form, as humans we will need to set aside our personal indifferences to make any worthy change in this world. I will buy the song and support Haiti in it's relief efforts.

I would like to know where were the biggest stars today at when they were recording this, ie: BEYONCE, RIHANNA, TAYLOR SWIFT, ALICIA KEYS, LADY GAGA, JAY-Z, CHRIS BROWN (oh wait he can't be in the same room as RiRi)....AND WHITNEY!?!? I'm almost scared to hear it because I don't think it'll be as good as the original.

Absolutely, anything with Kayne West or Lil 'Wayne you can count me OUT! No Kayne did not murder anyone but a beat a women, and given the money these guys make their ought to be certain things they simply can't do and then turn around business as usual like nothing happened, he blew it, and in my opinion he's done. As for Lil Wayne, are you kidding, this guy is the most disgusting individual I have seen to date. He is an avid drug user, ya real good message to send...Quincy J. you should be fired for ever assembling this motley crew of characters, no pun intended.

For all of you who do not want to buy the remake of We Are the World, another haiti charity single was released to UK radio today, will be in Uk stores 2/08/2010, and will be availible to Us 2/16/2010. It's called "Everybody Hurts" and does not have the cast of 1000's the US single has but does have Rod Stewart,Mariah Carey,Susan Boyle, and a lot of other artists. I listened to it and really liked it more than the original REM version. From what I understand the US single is being tied to the NBC Olympics broadcast- which is why it is not out today. Once again the British are quicker than the US...

@John - Thank you for finally being the one to point out that "We Are The World" was a response to "Do They Know..." I loved that song far more than "We Are The World" although both are excellent songs! As for this re-make....we'll see....

It is a nice effort...however, nothing will be as good as the Artists Against Aparthied work..."I ain't gonna play Sun City..." of the '80's or the great "No Nukes" concerts of the '70's...my two cents. Just hope the money goes where it is needed and not to huge overhead costs or to accountants' & lawyers' pockets...

Soooooo I'd like to know if there were any country artists involved, the Staples Center was filled with many talented people that night, including the likes of Kieth Urban,Dierks Bentley, Miranda Lambert, and Taylor Swift. It'll be interesting to see if they were asked to participate! After all Waylon Jennings, and Willie were present for the original.

Practice: Do you honestly believe that President Obama would use that hypothetical situation of your's as a platform for pushing a race card? You would need something a lot stronger than that, like Bush's repsonse to Katrina, then he would have something. If you dont like the guy, that's your business but putting your own reasoning behind why he shouldn't participate in a song like this is not enough.
And on a compassionate note, Kanye may have made some bad choices but what people fail to realize is that he lost his mother and never grieved for her; just kept on working. Things like that impact a person's life. And I'll answer your question qith a question: What am I supposed to be over? I'm great, it's all these Taylor Swift fans that are holding grudges. She just won some Grammy's, I doubt she's thinking about Kanye.

Garry: How many of the original Artists were close friends of MJ? Also, take into consideration that all these artists are of another generation and most of them grew up listening to MJ. This hadn't even crossed my mind until now but it just makes it more pointless. This isn't about MJ or Quincy or Kanye or Lil' Wayne or Hurricane Katrina or the Tsunami victims, it's about Haiti. So if you want to donate, donate; if you want to buy this song, buy it!; if you dont DONT! But dont snowball all these other issues with the Haitian Crisis, it's counterproductive.

And seriously, half of you are commenting on who's participating; I doubt any of you are qualitifed to choose who should sing and why....these comments are apparent reasons.

Are you guys for real. I am not sure how you guys can offer compassion to a people with so much hate for west. he screwed up are you planning to keep this up for life. GET A LIFE PEOPLE. l. Wayne is not the only one to ever swear on tv. You guys crusified chris brown buy charley sheen go on making the most money on tv. I guess he does not count. America and haiti is there really a comparison. people please.

Everyone keeps saying, :Whats wrong with you people" when negative comments are made concerning the so called crappy remake.
Whats wrong you ask, well lets see...How many of these good hearted loving so called friends of MJ were there when he was on trial? How many offered support or a helping hand? Maybe a handful and NOW they are coming out of the woodwork..GIVE ME A FRIGGING BREAK...friends or expoliting a situation?
Personally I don't want a remake...the first was great..second it is one thing to help Haiti, it is another to so call "help out" just to get your picture in the paper.
If these celebrities want to help..then l;et them send some of their millions to help..frankly..I am out of money!

Kanye did something that if it were the other way around would be replayed, remarked by Obama and turned into a racial moment that would linger on forever. Regardless of how successful or talented the man is he is completely ignorant, his face should be next to the definition of racist. He wants African Americans to get recognized in every category they are involved in and when they are not he throws the card on the table. Many are saying 'get over it' but let me ask you have you really gotten over IT? I think not. As he is entitled to his opinion we are entitled to think his opinion is completely hypocritical.

Sorry but what would be wrong with re-releasing the original and do a new song. And how much of the proceeds are really going to the people of Haiti. Good intentions, but I'd like to know how much of my $15 actually goes to Haiti, or is $14.95 of going into the pockets of a record company. And wouldn't it be great if any sales tax who be directed to a fund that 100% goes to Haiti.

Don't mean to be a scrooge, but when I give, I want the intended receivers to receive it, all of it. I don't need to be bribed via sympathy to buy a CD. I'll buy because I like it. And when I donate to a cause, I don't need to get a product in return to do it.

I think the video would have been more interesting if they didn't check their egos at the door. It makes you wonder who they invited they would expect to misbehave and why would they invite them in the first place.

OMGoodness! No one is happy unless someone gripes about something. It's for a cause!! Who cares who is singing. People stop being negative, and look at the positive. No wonder the world is the way it is. Get over it, move on and be happy!

I think this a very good idea. Y not bring back a great classic with new flavor. At the end of the day its about helping Haiti. If remaking this song is going to bring in the donations then by all means lil wayne do your thing!

It's hard enough to get an entire family together for a holiday much less trying to gather so many celebs in one place at one time. Who cares who's singing, if it raises money, I'd let Alvin and the Chipmonks take a turn. Also, let's not forget that Quincy Jones picked what he thought was the best of the best. Who could argue with his talent and knowledge?

I loved loved the original & am super excited to hear the changes to it. Some of us were the ages of our children now when the original came out. This new version will reach out to the kids buying music now. Isn't the point to raise $ for Haiti? Kids today wouldn't buy the original. Who cares who is singing in it? The original brought out a different side to the artist singing it then as I am sure the new one will.
And by the way lots of classic faves are redone in some way or another & we always end up loving them. Don't judge it til you hear it

Kanye? Celline Dion? Lil Wayne? Who cares about them? Obviously you all missed the point of the article. Greenman, the most important performance artist of our generation is participating! It may be always sunny in Philadelphia, but now there's hope that someday, someway, it will be mostly sunny in Port-au-Prince.

In my personal opinion, when a "remake" is done to a song, especially one of this magnitude involving so many tremendously talented artists, it's done with the SAME people as the original. If different people are going to be involved, then an entirely new song should be created. I'm sorry to disagree with many readers, but too many people involved in this so called "remake" are not anywhere near in talent and/or gifted as the great majority of artists from the original song. Yes, it's for a cause, I totally agree, & I'm definitely in favor of it, but to me, this is NOT a remake. It is also a lack of respect to not invite so many of the original artists. Artists who have worked very hard for YEARS to get to where they are today !

Last, perhaps the best song that really should be an eye opener to the entire world is: IMAGINE by John Lennon. This song says it all !!!!

PoohBear and Vasquez, I totally agree with you. Very well said by both of you. I'm not a fan of Kanye anymore, but DAMN, what's wrong with him participating in the remake. @Jason, Lil Wayne, Kanye, Vince Vaughn???? WHY NOT??? The song is for people of all cultures, backgrounds, genres of music, or hell, non singers at all. I think that everyone has taken it upon themselves feel like only people that they like should be able to be a part of the song and that's not how it works! @Kara, I felt the same at first, but then I thought about it and then I realized that this song is perfect no matter how many times it's remade (granted they don't change the words). On top of that, so many of the originals are either dead or old as dirt! lol! But I really do think that a new group of singers will actually make it fun and brand new again.

Maybe because 200,000 people didn't die in Katrina, Americans gave millions to the tragedy, the American government gave billions more and the Haitian government isn't able to rebuild itself. THAT'S why they didn't redo the song for Katrina.

Originally, John Denver, who was very active in hunger/humanatarian causes, volunteered to sing on the first rendition but was told "this is a pop music thing'" and was rejected. John Denver. Guess that explains why Dan Akroyd and Dionne Warwick were included. What a joke.

Why wasn't anything done (anthem or telethon) for the victims of the Tsunami in Sri Lanka? 250,000 people died then but I guess they didn't deserve this type of help. At least the Katrina victims got a telethon!!

I agree with the others. Whether it's for a good cause or now, I will have NOTHING in my possession that has Kanye West attached to it. They made a HUGE mistake adding him to the list. Someone MORE worthy could have been placed in his spot and most definitely Lil' Wayne's spot. I mean, he was cursing on LIVE TV on the Grammy's, as we as wearing his pants down past his butt. Please... No thank you. I can give money to Haiti without attaching myself to such a foolish pick of people.

I had to ask because these celebrities are getting together for Haiti, this whole set-up is done for Haiti so what are you talking about?
And PoohBear hit the nail on the head because people are focused on who is involved and have gripes about that; so who's ideals are in the wrong place?

im quite sure that there are people that will donate regardless of this mixup of circus people. i dont think we should associate haiti with celebrities, even if they are donating. its not all about them, and it shouldnt ever be. watch in a year, theyll all have some kind of big comeback, and be on some morning talk show advertising a new cd or movie. poohbear your ideals are in the wrong place.

You can not perfect perfection. The original song should be playing as they are assembling themselves in their position, after everyone is in their position bring the new version on. I'm not impressed so far from what I've heard. Yes, Michael would be proud and extremely supportive and at the top of his game.

I am old enough and I DO have the original. I think that this is a GREAT idea. I just wish MONEY was not always involved.

I ask: Could not all the wealthy folks of the world (corporations, billionaires, millionaires, etc.) JUST Suspend the Profit Motive (and us, too) just go feed, clothe. care for, house all the suffering peoples of the world, not just Haiti? Might the greedy ones stay away and let those who care do the work we all need done on Planet Earth? If I could just quit my job today and leave, I'd do it in a second! Peace

what is wrong with you people. this song was redone for a "Cause". A Cause in which Michael Jackson would have been proud to support. Who cares who is on the song or was at the venue. This is about helping PEOPLE!! Do you get that?! What is wrong with you?! if the song was not redone it would not have brought in new listeners. remember the song is 25 years OLD.. Huh, probably older than YOU!!

He was asked because no matter what he did this year (not condoning this) he is a VERY talented MC. And because this song is supposed to promote love and equality, why shouldn't he be on there? I understand why people were upset but GET OVER IT, Taylor has.

I feel that there was not reason to redo the song. It completely takes away the impact of the original. Why not just create an entirly different song for this?? Or atleast invite the originals back to do the remake.